Browsing environmental news sources so you don't have to. Contact Laura Barnes (lbarnes@istc.illinois.edu) with questions, comments, and suggestions.
Follow ENB on TwitterRead the full story in Water & Wastewater News.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service maps of the National Wetlands Inventory are now available for viewing using Google Earth. The wetlands inventory includes wetlands data for approximately 60 percent of the conterminous United States, as well as portions of Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico.
Date: May 8, 2008.
Part of the 2008 Safety WebExpo and Conference. Register here.
The field of green chemistry focuses on the design, manufacture and use of chemicals, products and processes to reduce or eliminate adverse effects on human health and ecosystems. Advancements in the field will support businesses and industries, as well as communities, workers and public agencies in their efforts to minimize the use of toxic chemicals in industrial processes and products. Advancements in green chemistry practices can also open new opportunities for green collar jobs, while at the same time ensuring that these new jobs are also safer jobs.
In addition to presenting the findings of our recent report to California EPA, Green Chemistry: Cornerstone to a Sustainable California (http://coeh.berkeley.edu/greenchemistry/briefing), we will address the following topics:
For a full-color, graphic version of this newsletter, go to
http://www.greenercomputing.com/enewsletter.
Welcome to GreenBiz 2.0!
We’ve been working long hours behind the scenes to make GreenBiz.com and our sister sites even more useful and information-packed. At last, here it is, and here’s what new and improved about the sites.
How to Develop a Green IT Culture
By Andy Lawrence
IT has suffered an ‘eco black eye’ over the course of the past year even though its contributions to climate change are minimal compared to other sources. Instead of IT presuming a defensive position in the ‘green IT’ movement, IT should assert its role as a positive force for change, in which it embraces innovative technologies and uses them to improve energy efficiency across the enterprise.
Microsoft Invests $500K in Energy Efficient Computing Research
The funding is part of the company’s Sustainable Computing Program, which focuses on energy efficiency and the “pay for play” principle where the amount of energy used by a computing device is proportional to the demand placed on it. The award recipients include University of Tennessee, Stanford, Harvard and
University of Oklahoma.
How Carbon-Heavy is Your Email?
New research from Sun Microsystems aims to allow firms to measure the carbon footprint of their emails.
SynapSense Software Offers Real-Time Imaging for Data Center Energy Use
The company’s LiveImaging feature allows operators to gauge efficiencies in energy use, heating and cooling, humidity and pressure differentials, making possible on-the-fly adjustments to data center performance.
Softchoice Website Makes Finding Green IT Easier
The online hardware and software retailer has launched a new EcoTech section devoted to EPEAT-certified products and solutions for saving electricity, reducing waste and other environmentally friendly computer products.
EPA and The Green Grid Join Forces to Explore IT Energy Efficiency
The organizations signed a memorandum of understanding to promote the greening of computer facilities and share best practices for replication with government agencies and industry.
Hitachi Planning Most Power-Efficient Data Center
Hitachi Data Systems has unveiled plans for what it says will be the most
power-efficient enterprise-class data center in the world.
Swapping PCs for Thin Client Terminals Slashes Enterprise’s Energy Use, Emissions
Enterprise Rent-a-Car will finish switching out PCs for thin client terminals in its rental locations to streamline car rental transactions and slash energy consumption and emissions.
The latest issue of Renewable Energy Weekly is now available. Highlights include:
Read the full story in Technology Review.
Researchers at Harvard University have made a shoebox-size sensor that could be used to detect extremely low concentrations of a broad variety of chemicals. The heart of the sensor is an array of tiny but powerful lasers that can be tuned over a wide range of wavelengths.
Sensors for detecting small amounts of gases have numerous applications. They are used to monitor toxic pollutants in the air and water, to test for chemicals in blood or on breath, and to detect impurities in natural gas or commercially synthesized chemicals. The commonly used tool for these applications, a Fourier transform infrared spectrometer, can detect a range of chemicals, but it is not very sensitive, detecting levels in the low parts-per-million range. The instrument is also heavy and bulky–about the size of a large suitcase–restricting the device to laboratory-type settings.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Deputy Regional Administrator Bharat Mathur today congratulated the regional winners of the 2007 Presidents Environmental Youth Awards at an event in Chicago. Each year, the awards honor students in kindergarten through 12th grade who develop innovative environmental projects. This years regional winners all hail from Illinois.
Read the full story at News.com.
Washington lawmakers aiming to green both the Capitol dome and the laws made beneath it are turning to Silicon Valley for inspiration while pledging to help renewable energy start-ups get off the ground.
Chemical Assessments: Low Productivity and New Interagency Review Process Limit the Usefulness and Credibility of EPA’s Integrated Risk Information System. GAO-08-440, March 7.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-440
Highlights – http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d08440high.pdf
Toxic Chemicals: EPA’s New Assessment Process Will Increase Challenges EPA Faces in Evaluating and Regulating Chemicals, by John B. Stephenson, director, natural resources and environment, before the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. GAO-08-743T, April 29.
http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-08-743T
Highlights – http://www.gao.gov/highlights/d08743thigh.pdf
